crappyjones123 Posted September 23, 2014 Report Posted September 23, 2014 Beautiful home Ian. Congratulations
TMoney Posted September 23, 2014 Report Posted September 23, 2014 I brought my 2005 VW Passat in for a servicing yesterday only to find out its going to be basically as much $ to fix its issues as the blue book value on the car. Great.... So, now in the market for a new car. This will be the first car I buy entirely myself without any parental assistance, so I am both excited and nervous (as well as pissed off at my old VW). Can anyone point to a good online primer or primers on car buying? I have a pretty good idea of my budget, and I think I'm set on getting something new as opposed to used, as I want a car that will last me the next ten years or so. I've heard picking up a copy of the Car issue of Consumer Reports is a good idea. Some of the things I'm not so sure about include buying vs. leasing, how much of a down payment one makes on a car when buying/leasing, and test driving etiquette. I'm also unsure if I want to deal with the dealers or use a 3rd party service like Cartelligent to negotiate prices for me. Needless to say, I'm sure there is a lot more I'm going to have questions about as I go about doing my homework. I hope to have a list of 4-5 cars down by Friday so I can do some test drives this weekend.
aardvark baguette Posted September 23, 2014 Report Posted September 23, 2014 Carmax gave me 0% interest. Can't complain.
Dusty Chalk Posted September 23, 2014 Report Posted September 23, 2014 Definitely 2nd CarMax -- they make it painless, however for new, they only sell a couple brands. For used, the only way to do better is person-to-person sale. I went back there for my current car, a 2012 Mazda3. I had very specific requirements, and the one car that met all of those requirements was in New York, and they shipped it to my local dealer (not for free, mind you, and with 2 weeks of shipping time, roughly). For new, TrueCar buying service or similar is the way to go. Here's how to work them: do some research, find out which dealers in your area are good and which aren't. Then determine which car you want, then go to TrueCar, enter the car, option it out the way you want. They'll come back with some in your area -- they may not be an exact match, so check carefully. Now the way it's supposed to work, you should get calls from several dealers, you pick one, and you go with them. But the way my friend worked the system, he took the lowest offer to the dealer he really wanted to go with, and they beat even that price. As usual, make sure they don't stiff you on the trade-in, financing, or any other areas. Try to make sure that you are in the position of always being able to walk away. Last thought: it still might be worth it to get it fixed -- tdiclub might be able to find you a good, honest mechanic in your area even if it's not a TDI (they're all VW fanboys, so it's a good network for that). I know I have one really close to me in Woodbridge if I were to have gone that route.
Aimless1 Posted September 23, 2014 Report Posted September 23, 2014 As long as you remember to NEVER fall in love with a car you're looking at and are ready to walk on a deal you don't like, you'll be fine. Never used it but like CarMax for buying a used car. I never thought buying a new car and getting a good deal was all that difficult. Easy to find the invoice for the car. kbb.com, nada.com, Edmunds.com & etc will show you the invoice cost of the vehicle. You determine how much you're willing to spend based on the invoice and taking rebates into account. The vehicle I just purchased I bought at invoice less two $1000 rebates and would have had another $1000 rebate but chose 0% financing instead. Another dealer was offering a minimum trade in of $5000 and our trade was worth $2500 due to unrepaired accident damage. That $5000 also came off the price when they matched the deal. I would not have pulled that off on my first new car, but easy at this point in my life. When it is your first deal it's not difficult to buy a car for $300 over invoice. Just have to be firm and willing to go down the street if they won't work with you.
Wmcmanus Posted September 23, 2014 Report Posted September 23, 2014 Back home in Cayman today after seeing 48 (far too many but yet somehow not quite enough) major league baseball games this year. 6
Voltron Posted September 23, 2014 Report Posted September 23, 2014 Wow, I didn't realize you were still on the road until recently! Sounds fun but very grueling.
TMoney Posted September 23, 2014 Report Posted September 23, 2014 Picked this up when I was out getting lunch to do a little market research. Thanks for all the advice so far. I'm being irrational about this, but I really want to go new as opposed to used. Car Max does look awesome though. I've been browsing their inventory.
blessingx Posted September 23, 2014 Report Posted September 23, 2014 My only advice is when I looked four years ago (when still living in SF) I found a huge difference in pressure and deals as I expanded the search radius. Ended up near San Jose for better deals and greatly preferred several Capitol Expressway experiences over same at Stevens Creek (even if ownership is shared), etc. 1
skullguise Posted September 23, 2014 Report Posted September 23, 2014 Welcome home, Wayne. Looking forward to some stories....you ALWAYS have good stories!
Grahame Posted September 23, 2014 Report Posted September 23, 2014 I had luck with http://www.carsdirect.com/ last time I tried this - ended up purchasing in Dublin, vehicle transferred from Stockton, with low interest manufacturer finance on offer at the time. Understand TCO, and the cost of finance. Cars are very much fungible commodities, the purchase of which, dealers use to initiate a transaction where their objective is to extract as much money from you as possible. Know if you're getting a good deal, or when to walk. Canny neighbor did something similar. Got the (distant) cars direct price, then told local dealer, I'm about to set off purchase this car for this price, this afternoon. If you can beat or match the price, the deal is yours. She didn't have to travel as far as she was anticipating.
Wmcmanus Posted September 23, 2014 Report Posted September 23, 2014 (edited) Wow, I didn't realize you were still on the road until recently! Sounds fun but very grueling. The last 20 games were in Tampa in late August and throughout September. At $10 per game for tickets and free parking, why not? It's kind of quiet in there. Shame, really... but did get to see Jeter in his final series with the Yankees and Paul Konerko do his last hurrah with the White Sox. Edited September 23, 2014 by Wmcmanus 1
ironbut Posted September 24, 2014 Report Posted September 24, 2014 Wow! That is amazing Wayne! How many hot dogs were consumed?
Wmcmanus Posted September 24, 2014 Report Posted September 24, 2014 Wow! That is amazing Wayne! How many hot dogs were consumed? One, I believe... but lots of pulled pork nachos at the Trop in St. Pete.
blessingx Posted September 24, 2014 Report Posted September 24, 2014 Attended my first guinea pig "funeral" and burial today. Interesting watching the kids process events.
n_maher Posted September 24, 2014 Report Posted September 24, 2014 Visited scenic Norfolk, VA which provided both torrential downpours and minor coastal flooding. The perfect weather for a site visit if I do say so myself. I'm headed back north tomorrow morning only to have this storm follow me up the coast. Wuhoo!
Dusty Chalk Posted September 24, 2014 Report Posted September 24, 2014 <-- The reason that one's called what it is, perhaps?
n_maher Posted September 24, 2014 Report Posted September 24, 2014 That and I have a fondness for lightning.
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